The Schulte Group has launched INNOPORT, a dedicated venture capital unit which identifies investment opportunities in the global maritime startup ecosystem to equip entrepreneurs with smart capital.

The Schulte Group is a world-leading family-owned ship owner and ship manager with over 135 years of expertise in the maritime industry. Overall, the group employs 18,000 seafarers and 2,000 people on shore, owns 90 vessels and manages over 600 vessels globally.

“At INNOPORT, we want to build
bridges and open doors wherever possible. In essence, INNOPORT provides
startups with the right network and the right capital, to scale up their
business and to bring their ideas into fruition”, said Yiannis Sykas, Director
of Strategy and Product Development at Bernhard Schulte Ship management (BSM).

“INNOPORT was founded to support
early-stage ventures, typically pre-revenue companies at the idea or prototype
stage. We invest in breakthrough technology and disruptive business models that
address a real pain and have the potential to define new standards in their
respective industries. We want to see founders, who actively challenge the
status quo of how the maritime industry works, to make it better, safer and
more efficient”, said Haymon Sinapius, INNOPORT’s Investment Manager for Asia.

INNOPORT differentiates itself
from conventional venture capitalists in terms of its investment mandate and
its in-house expertise. “Typically, venture capital funds operate on a broader
investment remit and they often lack intimate knowledge of the industries. At INNOPORT, we see ourselves as a provider of
capital with industry domain knowledge coupled with access to the right people
within our organization and our network to support the portfolio companies we
invest in”, said Niklas Koerner, INNOPORT’s Investment Manager for Europe.

INNOPORT based in Hamburg,
Limassol and Singapore inherit the technology innovation, the global mindset
and the Hanseatic handshake of a maritime innovator and operator since its own
beginnings in 1883. The INNOPORT team works globally, consisting of
complementary and fast-interacting agents, who are particularly perceptive to
the signals of newly emerging opportunities in the maritime ecosystem, recognizing
trends and opportunities and supporting founders from discovery to successful
exit.